Human remains recovered from a vehicle that was submerged for nearly two decades in the Ohio River have been identified as a woman who disappeared with her two children in 2002.
Indiana State Police on Tuesday confirmed the woman's identity as Stephanie Van Nguyen.
Nguyen was 26-years-old when she was reported missing in April 2002 along with her 3-year-old son John and 4-year-old daughter Kristina.
"Information gathered at the time indicated that Nguyen left a note that she was going to drive into the Ohio River," police said in a statement. "However, her vehicle was not located at the time."
The Delhi Township Police Department began looking into the case again recently. Officer Heather Taylor said her motivation was bringing a family closure.
"I wanted to see if with the improvements in technology and with things like that, if we could beat the clock to the twentieth anniversary because everybody deserves to come home," Taylor told WLWT. "Everybody deserves to be found."
In October, a team carried out a thorough search of the river using side sonar scan technology and located a vehicle that matched the description of Nguyen's 1997 Nissan Pathfinder. The registration plate confirmed the vehicle belonged to Nguyen.
The vehicle was located at a depth of over 50 feet and was approximately 300 feet from the bank of the river near Lesko Park in Aurora, Indiana.
"After the vehicle was removed from the river, anthropologists from the University of Indianapolis assisted investigators in searching the vehicle for human remains," police said. "One bone, believed to be a human bone, was recovered from the vehicle and sent to a laboratory for further investigation."
Testing completed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations Laboratory confirmed that the bone belonged to Nguyen.
"I am happy we were able to finally give Ms. Nguyen's family some closure in this almost two decade long search for their loved one," Dearborn County Coroner Cameron McCreary said in a statement.
"Since no other remains were located within the vehicle, the children will still be listed as an open missing persons case unless remains are located or if the family filed through the court to have them declared legally deceased," McCreary added.
Once the weather improves, another dive is expected to take place in search for any other possible remains.
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